Staying with Joel's sister Isabel in Diriamba was delightful. She has a 4 bedroomed bungalow on the outskirts of Diriamba and I think you would call them middle class - 3 of the bedrooms had windows. It was a pleasure to be in a house that didn't feature telenovelas all the time and her children and frinds were easy going, sociable people.
Her daughter Amelie's boyfriend, Marco travelled with me to Managua and then we tried to find the hostal I'd booked, which took some doing. People never seem to know where things are in Nicaragua - a policeman sitting at the end of the street from here sent us in completely the wrong direction.
But eventually we found the hostal that caters for 'mochileros' and then went to the shopping centre for something to eat. The only difference between Las Américas and Cribbs Causeway was that evereybody had black hair, I looked to be the only foreigner, and in December everyone was in T-shirts. Diriamba was warm with breezes - Managua is hot and sticky.
Tomorrow morning I have to be at the airport for 4.30 to catch a plane to El Salvador and then change for Cuba. I think, however, that I will be entering  a country where it could be hard to be a vegetarian and where WiFi is still in its infancy. Vamos a ver